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Don Imus Is Back: Who Hired Him?
Compiled by the DiversityInc staff
November 02, 2007
Ousted radio shock jock Don Imus is returning to the airwaves. WABC, a New York-based AM station, will broadcast Imus' show daily from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The show will also be syndicated around the nation through ABC Radio Networks, reports Reuters. "Don's unique brand of humor, knowledge of the issues and ability to attract big-name guests is unparalleled. He is rested, fired up and ready to do great radio," WABC President and General Manager Steve Borneman said in a statement. In April, Imus' old radio show was cancelled after he referred to the mostly black Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" during their championship game. Imus apologized on his show and later met with members of the Rutgers team to apologize in person.
(See Also: Don Imus Keeps Apologizing; Is It Enough?)
Dodgers Get Pass on Interviewing Coaches of Color, Nab Torre
The Dodgers, the Major League Baseball club that broke the race barrier 50 years ago when it hired Jackie Robinson, has such a good record of hiring people of color for decision-making positions that Commissioner Bud Selig gave the club a pass on interviewing managers of color so the Dodgers could pursue former New York Yankee skipper Joe Torre. Torre agreed to a three-year deal with the Dodgers Thursday. Of the Dodgers staff, 38 percent is comprised of people of color and women, reports The New York Times. "It is a very important part of who I am and what I believe," Ned Colletti, the Dodgers' general manager, said about hiring people of color in a telephone interview with The New York Times. The club's highest-ranking executive of color is Kim Ng, an Asian-American woman who is vice president and assistant general manager, a title she previously held with the Yankees. Also, the Dodgers recently promoted De Jon Watson, who is black, to assistant general manager. Watson is highly regarded in baseball and is seen as a certain general manager of the future. Toney Howell and Vance Lovelace, both of whom are black, are also special assistants to Colletti, who told the Times that about half of the organization's player-development staff, managers and coaches are people of color.
(See also: Partnerships With Diverse Suppliers Key to Building Corporate Trust)
'Desperate Housewives' Gay Couple Perfect Fit for Wisteria Lane
"In capturing the gay suburban experience, the joke is they have the same issues as everyone else," series creator Marc Cherry tells USA Today. "The politically correct thing would have been to have everyone get along with them. But there's a lot of comedy to be played against type." Upon their debut on "Desperate Housewives," the two gay characters, Bob and Lee, first encounter Susan (Teri Hatcher). After realizing they're a gay couple, Susan says, "I've seen a lot of cable, so I get it. You're just great." The show is receiving kudos from gay-advocacy organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "It's great that 'Desperate Housewives'— a clever, funny, high-profile show—is expanding its diversity by having a long-time committed gay couple. It taps into an audience that already enjoys the show," Damon Romine, entertainment media director at GLAAD, tells USA Today.
If You're LGBT, Vegas Wants You
Las Vegas' resorts are hoping to become the top destination for the LGBT consumer market. Major properties such as MGM MIRAGE offer lavish commitment ceremonies to same-sex couples, as well as special hotel and entertainment packages geared specifically toward LGBT travelers. Diversity programs that include LGBT sensitivity training are also becoming common at Las Vegas' properties, reports The Wall Street Journal. LGBT travel accounts for $55 billion of the overall U.S. travel market, according to research from Community Marketing Inc., according to the Journal. "As we learn more and more about the travel trends of the gay and lesbian market we are very excited about our brands. We're learning it's a very strong market," said Chuck Bowling, vice president of marketing for MGM MIRAGE, No. 39 on The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list.
(See also: Finding New Markets in Turbulent Times: Travel Industry Rolls Out the 'Pink Carpet')
Preserving the Mountain View Colored Officers Club
Lena Horne sang and former heavyweight champion Joe Louis participated in boxing exhibitions there. It was the only club for black officers that the army built from the ground up, reports The New York Times. Now, the Mountain View Colored Officers Club in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., a dilapidated memory of its past, is going to be demolished unless money is raised to restore it. A group of retired black soldiers wants to preserve the 17,000-square-foot club built in 1942 just before the armed forces desegregated in 1948. Last year, the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers signed a lease with the base, giving the group until spring 2008 to raise $200,000 toward the renovation.
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